beauty blogger

Hair care can be an arduous task and to be honest most time I’m too lazy to (hair) care. (;
So, when my normal routine can do all the work for me, I’m probably a little bit too excited.

I like to keep my hair low maintenance, so why I decided to ‘go blonde’ is beyond me. Any brunette to blonde will tell you, its an expensive rode to walk down to hair that is undeniably going to turn to straw if you don’t care for it. That, or just snap off…

So when I had my first round of bleaching I knew I had to get in on some hair care ASAP! thank goodness for Priceline, their hair care sale was just a few days after my appointment so I picked up some products that I’m going to share with you because, as luck would have it the Priceline hair care sale is happening this week: Thursday the 12th and Friday the 13th (oooohhh) of October.

The first products I added into my hair care regime were the ‘Sheer Blonde Colour Renew Tone-Correcting shampoo and conditioner by John Frieda. As you can see by the less than pristine packaging I used them all up! I really enjoyed this product and in fact I went to re purchase it but it was sold out of either the shampoo or the conditioner and I like using them as a set so I picked up something else instead.

Brass be gone: I found it knocked back the brassy tones that were showing through. I used this shampoo and conditioner 1 to 2 times a week and it kept my hair looking yellow blonde instead of orange blonde which I really liked.

Price: $17.99 each per 250ml – full price

Smell: Not that many will care, but this shampoo and conditioner smell so nice and leave the hair smelling so for at least two days afterwards.

Aftermath: The conditioner does a really nice job at eliminating breakages AND detangling. Because my hair is naturally fine, long and curly/wavy tangles are a constant which mean hair breakage and split ends are a daily struggle. This conditioner once massaged into the lengths of my hair made it easy to brush out. Hair felt silky and smooth for days.

When I went in to purchase the John Frieda again and saw that one was sold out, I came across the Fudge version. It’s the Fudge Clean Blonde Violet Toning Shampoo and Conditioner. Clean blonde… is that a play on words of dirty blonde? I don’t know, but it’s clever. It was slightly more expensive than the John Frieda, but there is more product so I thought, “eh, why not. People have recommended Fudge products in the past.. I’ll give it a go”. I’ll say it now. I really like this duo.

Brass be gone: Wow, this sometimes works too well! I have almost white blonde ends and if I use too much of this I feel like they go grey/silver/purple. I don’t hate it but just be warned. A little goes a long way. Apply it to hands and work through the lengths of your hair don’t apply straight to hair.

Price: $21.99 each per 300ml – full price

Smell: It smells sweet, like confectionary. Almost like lolly bananas? Totally odd but not at all unpleasant. It has a powdery sweet linger to the hair.

Aftermath: Apart from the possible purple ends, this duo does a great job at keeping the brass at bay. My hair tends to get a little bit fluffy if I leave it to air dry after washing, but my hair does feel very soft. I think it would work well on thicker hair that doesn’t tend to fly around like my fine hair does.

A word of caution. As you will see in a photo below, the shampoo is quite purple. I found once I’d finished in the shower there were purple toned water drops everywhere and I was worried it’d staid the grout in the tiles. (Raise your hand if you’re pedantic about tile grout 🙋🏻) it does however wash away easily.

Another note about staining, my fingernails are a violet colour. Especially around the cuticles. For a week I didn’t know how it had t washed off and then I realised it must have stained the roots / my scalp because every time I’d run my fingers through my roots or scratch my head my nails would be purple again so make sure you wash this product out super well. I’ve never had an issue with any other violet shampoo before. Just this one.

Once every one to two weeks I like to treat myself to a hair mask. My hair is naturally quite fine and dry and b cause of that, prone to breakage so I like to give it a boost every now and then. I’ve been using the Masque brand for a while and I’ve tried out 3 of their other masks and really enjoy them. Out of a packet this size I get at least 6 treatments.

Because I use purple shampoo and conditioner intermittently with my regular shampoo and conditioner I sometimes like to let this mask soak in and act as a deep conditioning toner treatment and I find it works quite well.

Brass be gone: I feel like it’s at the same level as the John Frieda. But because I can leave this on longer. It varies. Sometimes I mix in a tiny amount of the Fudge shampoo for a bigger kick.

Aftermath: No staining so that’s a plus. Hair is hydrated and smooth and has a decent amount of the brass kicked back. Hair smells nice and is super soft.

Here you can see the different variations of purple. In my mind the darker the colour the stronger the affect. Left to right is John Frieda, Fudge and Masque. This is only the shampoo (obviously the Masque is just the Masque) the conditioner of both are much more pale in colour.

You can see that the J/F is much more runny than the other two, and also the lightest. That being said I’d still use it again. The other two are quite thick. These swatches were on my hand for 5 mins maximum and the middle one (Fudge) did stain slightly.

After all is said and done, I’d still use any of these products again and I recommend you try them if you’re in the market from some purple shampoo. Just pay close attention when using the Fudge!

Finding the perfect foundation is a mission I think we’re all on in life and for those of you who’ve reached foundation bliss, I’m happy for you and also envious, but for those who are still striving for it, maybe this foundation could help you like its helped me!

During one of the Priceline 40% off cosmetics sales I went in with the mission of picking up a new foundation to try. I’ve been out of the ‘makeup new release’ game for a while because I’m trying to use up what I have so I really wasn’t aware of any new foundations to Priceline.

Walking through the aisles I wasn’t really attracted to anything until I walked past (for the second time) the NYX section. To be honest I don’t really buy a lot from NYX nothing really jumps out for me, I know a lot of people have some holy grail items but I’ve always been ‘meh’ about it.

Now if you know me you’ll know I’m obsessed with anything in a dropper. I can’t help it, if I see a dropper attachment on a product I’m going to give it a second look. So I guess that helped me find this foundation. Its the (new?) NYX Total Control Foundation Drops. I’m not sure if these are brand new or if they’re just new to me but the NYX stand in my Priceline had a whole bunch of YouTubers on the display making me think for some reason its new. Thats beside the point. Lets talk about the product.

Packaging:

The packaging is a really nice thick frosted glass bottle with a dropper lid. Its easy to hold even though it is on the smaller side. The dropper top is rubber whilst the tube itself is made of glass. Its easy to use, and not once have I thought I’d break it.

The Product

As you can see the product is VERY watery. Sometimes when I’ve dropped it on my forehead its dripped and run down my face through my eyebrow and almost into my eye. So keep that in mind!

I’ve been incorporating this foundation into my routine for 2 months and I’ve been using it different ways.

Just on my skin

On top of a primer

Mixed in with other foundations

Mixed with primer and foundations

Just on my skin:
I don’t even need to set this foundation. It has a skin like finish nothing too matte or dewy. Silky to the touch but doesn’t transfer. Great for days when you want something light on the face. Very easy to work with. Coverage is medium to full and easily buildable.

On top of a primer:
Similar results for this are hat of the first experiment. It would vary with different primers – I used more of a serum like primer and it didn’t break down the foundation so I’m keen to try out different types of primer to use with this foundation.

Mixing with foundations:I’ve mixed this with a few different foundations and BB creams. In the picture below it is mixed with the Kat Von D Lock It foundation. It didn’t make anything seperate or break down. I find it mixes really well with other products.

Mixed with primer and foundations:I think this is my favourite way to use this foundation. I dot around my face a serum primer, a different foundation and then add the NYX drops. I mix it all together on my face and find that the thicker foundation mixed with the serum makes it easier to apply and then the NYX drops finish it off with a boost of coverage that may have been lost.

The picture above is un edited. There is a slight showing of texture on my forehead and between my brows but that usually happens when I wear the Kat Von D foundation and haven’t prepared my skin. (I have VERY dry skin so texture is a usual occurrence)

Pros and Cons:

PROS
Its easy to use
Light weight
Versatile
Available from Priceline / Target
Works with brush or beauty sponge
Buildable

CONSCan cling to dry areas
Price vs amount. The price of this is $24.99 and you get 13ml. a ‘regular’ foundation is 30ml for the same price and sometimes (most times) cheaper. If this is the only thing you’re using then you’ll probably go through it quickly.
Shade Range – like most brands more shades need to be added.

OVERALL OPINION:I’d probably buy this foundation again, the price hurts my heart a bit, but the fact that its so versatile has swayed me. Its so easy to use and it looks great in photos. Depending on what you need it for/how you use it, it can last a long time. Usually when I wear this foundation I get compliments on my skin/complexion which never goes unwanted. If you’re looking to mix things up, maybe try this one out next time.

Have you tried this product? I’d love to know how you found it if you did. (:

This is the 3rd Lush event that I’ve been (SO) lucky enough to be able to attend and it was an absolute blast!

Unless you’re shopping online, there are only two places to get LUSH in South Australia – The CBD store or Westfield Marion. The CBD/Rundle Mall store is known for its small space and crowded isles, and I felt like every time I went in there I’d have to sharpen up my elbows ready to wiggle my way through the crowds. This is no longer an issue with the NEW LUSH store opening up right next door at approx 4 times the size!

The official open date was the 5th of November, however I was lucky enough, along with fellow Adelaide bloggers, to be invited to a media release VIP night on the eve of opening where we got to nosey around the store and check out some lovely LUSH stuff!

The Lowdown

17:45 Casual Chats
With the event starting at 6pm, we made our way to the store a little earlier to have chats and revel in all the excitement brewing from the bloggers. There was a big poster on the wall saying that the store was closed for a media event and we all felt a little bit (A LOT) special – very VIP! As more lovely bloggers rocked up, we all broke off into groups and started milling about by the door.

18:00 The Doors Open
We were briefly greeted and then welcomed in, I was standing in such an awkward position, because I had my back turned to the door, when it was opened, I had to spin around to give attention to who was speaking, but that meant I was super close so when she welcomed us in, I awkwardly stepped through the door to be the first one inside! We were then greeted by another lovely LUSHie and were presented with a gift card to spend in any LUSH store (not just all tonight – although, we all basically did)! I was so in awe of everything, the store was absolutely huge, I kept saying you could run a marathon in here, there was a big dorky grin on my face as everyone welcomed us into the store. There was a large table of cocktail glasses with two drinks on offer (YES PLEASE AND THANKYOU!). They were themed to two of the products on offer by LUSH, I had the “Shoot for the Stars” one and it was delish.. de-lish, de-lush. DE-LUSH!

I wanted to look and touch everything all at once, I was pin balling myself from display to display like a honeybee on the hunt for pollen! I made my way upstairs (with my babes) to the hair care section (cha ching – yes please) to see a demonstration of the shampoo and conditioner bars (something I have had my eyes on for a while). We then did a loop around the rest of the store snapping up pics and catching up with fellow blogger babes.

18:20 Official Welcome
It was announced that there would be an official welcome to the store so we all gathered around, we were welcomed by the director of LUSH Australia and told about the store! It was based off a mix of other stores around the world to optimise space and product placement. The wood used for the displays is all recycled and it actually came from the scaffolding of the SYDNEY HARBOUR BRIDGE – how dang exciting is that! We were then told a bit about some of the things the store had to offer for the night, including cocktails, snacks, a fresh juice stand and a ‘make it yourself’ bath bomb stand, along with product demonstrations everywhere you turned!

18:30 SHOP TILL YOU DROP
We then spend the next hour / hour and a half trying products, getting personalised consultations, chatting to everyone, shopping up a storm and taking selfies galore!

My first stop was back to hair care, I’m going to be travelling in January and wanted some hair care that is compact and efficient to which I was recommended the ‘Acocado co-wash’. To the LOVELY LUSH employee that helped me Alissa? I think her name was or Alisha… Thank you so much. We had been talking throughout the whole night and we made jokes that I was Veruca Salt (from willy wonka) because I was the first one through the door, we had a running joke all night, she was helpful to me and everyone around and just an A+ human being.

After putting nearly every bath bomb in my basket I was ready to take selfies and check out!

The Photos

Shoot for the stars – cocktail

…Put it on ice.

A Star in the making…

The New Store

Bottom level
Top Level
Photo courtesy of the photographer of the night.

Product Demos

This lot of photos perfectly sums up our friendship. Cute photo, funny faces in the background and then cheesy grins and shame. It doesn’t matter who is in the lead, the other two flanking will generally do that. This is why I love us.

Haul

Golden Wonder Bath Bomb

Butterbean Bath Bomb

Shoot for the Stars Bath Bomb (I made)

Never mind the ballistics Bath Bomb

Northern Lights Bath Bomb

Avocado Co-Wash

Mask of Magnaminty

(Purchased but not pictured – Twilight Bath Bomb – a gift for my mum)

I’ll be doing another post dedicated to the products in due time.

I’d like to say a HUGE thank you to everyone involved. The Kanya and the LUSH team and Kate and Nici from Promote SA. Without their hard work none of these things could happen. I love the Adelaide blogger community, its so nice to feel and be apart of something.

ALSO to the babes that I blog with, it was so nice to see you and catch up, we need to organise some more things!

So the new season has finally graced us with its presence and I’ve decided to grace the blogosphere with mine. I’m back – for the time being anyway and I want to share with you some things about Spring(s). (I tried).

Its the second official month of Spring here in Australia and today (20th of Oct) has been the warmest its been yet, so its FINALLY felt like spring. I did one of these for Autumn and loved it so I thought, why not ease into blogging by doing an easy post!

Spring Fling!

Spring is the season full of new flowers, baby animals and usually a lot of weddings and lovely dovey events. This outfit showcases some gorgeously sophisticated pieces whilst still having a romantic feel to it. A lot of blues, whites/creams, and nude pieces offset by tan and gold accents in my opinion just scream Spring. I would wear this to a wedding, engagement party, tea party, bridal shower or even date night – it is easy to swap out the heels for some flats, too!

Casual Spring

Here I’ve given two outfit choices, both involving light wash denim and off the shoulder top cropped style tops. Soft colours and floral is a must for the warmer months (in my opinion). the first outfit places some distressed jeans which are quite on the skinny side with a floral crop top that has elastic synching at the waist and cuffs. Pairing an outfit like this with the cutout lace up flats looks like a perfect outfit for a picnic in the park.

The second option pairs a structured denim skirt with a beautiful ‘cold shoulder’ crop top. It can be worn as is or the shirt tucked into the skirt for an edgier look. I paired this look with some pineapple flats for a pop of fun. Both outfits can be accessorised with the same brown bag and the cardigan for those cooler nights.

Same White T

Having a few white tops in your closet is a must for all seasons. But for spring I like to accessories a basic white top with some colourful bottoms! I basically live in maxi skirts in the warmer months but if I can find the right one, I think I would be willing to experiment with the midi skirt. I just have to find one that won’t make me look short! The soft pastel colours on both the skirts makes these outfits feminine and flirty but also quite graceful. Pairing them with the tan lace-up flats adds a bit of punch to the outfit without being obnoxious.

These shorts are to die for. I am obsessing hard over the leaf print trend that is happening at the moment and I think these would look stunning with the cute flats, simple tee and the cut out glasses. Very on trend.

Mix and Maxi

As I said I live in maxi skirts/dresses when its warmer. Spring in Australia tends to heat up fast so light airy fabrics are the way to go. The first outfit has long sleeves making it perfect for an evening event. The fabric is light enough that it won’t weigh you down, but also adds a little something to keep the chill off. I’m getting some massive Adele vibes from look one. I’m also loving the 60s / 70s trend of the platform shoes thats creeping its way back.

Look two is something that I’d wear to a picnic or a wine tour, brunch with the girls something casual that needs to look like you’ve made an inch of effort. Let the dress do all the work for you with a gorgeous print that is interesting, but not too obnoxious.

Look three is just a casual look that can be worn daily, or to a wedding! (like all these outfits really) I like to synch everything in at the waist (short torso problems). I love using brown belts to do that. They’re not as formal as a black belt but not as ‘pop of colour-y’ as a statement belt. They make the outfit look put together.

Everyday Outfit

This is (more or less) what I’m wearing today. Skinny jeans, a v-neck black top, black floral kimono and some converse. This is what I wear on the daily, matched with a white handbag and my phone. These sunglasses from Quay Australia, I’m definitely going to have to get my hands on, and I need a pineapple phone case in my life. Looks like this can be dressed up or down. The kimono is really the star of the show. I like to dress my outfits up with outter-wear.

I love a good makeup tag, and I also love my significant other so… lets put them together, yeah?

I saw Sarah from PastelSparkles do this tag with her boyfriend and it was just so great to read. I recommend you checking it out. Click here.

Kris has a pretty good knowledge of what products are and what goes where, he just lacks a bit of execution. Shoutout to him for helping me. To find out what he gets up to, Click here.

So here it is! I think he did quite well and I hope you like this fun little post!

BB Cream: BB Cream? For dry skin? Maybe? Most creams are.. Vitamin B?

Primer: … … … uhh… I don’t know if its before or after foundation… maybe ‘degreaser’. Or… to make foundation go on good.

Foundation: OH! That’s like the base coat!

Concealer: For hiding,… your blemishes..

Powder: Just general? Does it have a more specific name?Like what? I don’t know. Surely theres more than one kind of powder.What kinds of powder are there:? Baby powder? Do I Use it?.. no…

Brow Gel: I guess its like hair gel, for your eyebrows.

Eyeshadow: For colouring your eyelids.. Makes your eyes pop..?

Eyeliner: Outlines your eye. Via the eyelid..

Mascara: Makes your lashes longer and or straighter…

Corrector: I assume its not like white out… maybe for uneven skin? Texture? Or not…

Contour: Contour is for cheek definition.

Blusher: To make it look like you’re embarrassed. To make your cheeks look like they have life in them.

Highlight: It’s the opposite of contour, so it goes.. on the cheek bones?

Bronzer: I know it goes on the cheeks, but I don’t know why people do it, I don’t know if it has a function or purpose, like… I’ve only seen it on dragqueens… You don’t wear it do you? *hides under blanket*

Baking: Like, how we’re making dinner right now? To blow dry your face, do dry the makeup?

Strobing: Is that when you bash your face with the sponge?

Setting Spray: Is that like hair gel for your face? Wait… you use it to set.. your face? Is that even a thing?

Lip Liner: Its like eyeliner but for your lips.

He did pretty well, I have to admit. Although his answer for strobing was far from correct, and for the record, he’s referring to when I use a sponge to blend in foundation. /sigh.

I’ve been in somewhat of a #MakeupRut recently. It happens every now and then, I get overwhelmed by my makeup collection and then just don’t know what to do with myself and all my pretty things! I’ve decided to give this a go. To inspire me to do looks, create new things and hopefully get myself back in the groove of putting stuff on my face!

I found this list on a beauty group on Facebook and I instantly fell in love with the options! I didn’t invent this list or the ‘challenge’ that is 30daysof….. etc. But I think it’ll be fun!

I will start from Friday the 1st of July 2016 and work my way through the days. I don’t usually wear makeup every day, but for this, I’ll make the exception.

As you can see, the list is nothing extreme. It has a great mix of ‘out there’ and do-able makeup looks. Everything is open to interpretation. I have a few things already planned for July including birthdays and I’m quite excited to do my makeup a little different for those!

To get inspiration, Pinterest is going to be my best friend! I always trawl through and add pretty looks to my Makeup Inspiration board.

The top three I’m really excited for are: Autumn makeup, Rockabilly and Lashes, Lashes, Lashes!
The top three that I’m a little worried for are: Ombre anything (I’ve not got a lot of practice doing ombre looks), I’d never wear this and 4 products only.

I’ll be posting my looks on instagram and hopefully be doing a weekly roundup here on my blog explaining what products I used!

If you’d like to be apart of this then I really encourage it! Use the hashtag #30daysofmakeup so we can all see everyones looks.

If you’re an Australian Blogger and you’re not apart of Bloggers United AU then you are missing out.

I’m sure you’ve heard me talk about Bloggers United AU before, and I bet you all know what LUSH is so to my delight I was invited to a somewhat exclusive event involving two of my favourite things! Bloggers and Bath goodies!

If you want to read about other BUA and LUSH events just click those links!

To save this post turning into an Oscars acceptance speech, I’ll get the “Thank you’s” out of the way now. A MASSIVE thank you to LUSH Marion for having us and a sincere heartfelt thank you to Bloggers United AU and especially our state reps Kate and Nici. They’ve done so much to unite the Adelaide bloggers and as corny as it sounds I actually feel apart of something. *play the music* I’d also like to thank: Jesus, my mum and all of you lovely people, WE DID IT!

The Event:
We were welcomed by the team at LUSH Marion some of whom I recognised from the previous event (they even recognised lil’ ol’ me) and I was complimented right away on my lipstick. (Jeffrey Star’s Blue Velvet). As I mentioned before, the event was somewhat exclusive the numbers were set by the store (so I’ve been told) and I think there would have been 15 of us in total. There was a lovely LUSH lady writing out name-tags for us as we entered. BEST. IDEA. EVER. I recognised nearly everyone from their blogs and instagram feeds but I couldn’t remember their actual name! (for some). It was mingle time and that meant PHOTOS!

The lighting in the store was great for products but atrocious for photos. The lights are all warm and most of them are down-lights. This meant we were all quite orange toned and horrid shadows were cast across our faces. Never the less, the selfie spree continued! This time bringing in Steph from Howtogirl.net. It was so nice to finally meet her after talking through instagram so much!

I was so happy to finally get a chance to use the big ‘Adelaide Event’ cut out after seeing it so much at the BUA event back in Feb.

It was now time for the talks! Each time there is a LUSH event they (obviously) tell you about the company. I find it fascinating to know all the different ingredients that are in the LUSH products. We had a short talk from each of the staff about certain products, learning all kinds of facts!

Someone obviously has to win, and in the end it was the Steph and Felicia – from thebeautyandthegeekau! Celebratory selfies, winners are grinners girls! These two were on fire when it came to the scavenger hunt, they won by a tie breaker. Great effort!

Shopping Time:Once the Scavenger hunt was over we had free reign over the store to shop till we dropped! It was really good to get time to wanter through LUSH it’s always so busy! But because there was just the small group of us, we had time with the staff to get a decent consultation if we needed and they were more than happy to offer any advice. Last event I picked up some shampoo and conditioner because at the time, my hair was beyond dry! But since cutting my hair I haven’t needed the extra care, so I decided to go with some skincare instead! I’ll be doing a seperate post about my LUSH Haul! So keep your peepers peeled! I do have to say thank you to Tom for helping me and for being super honest about what products to get. (:

Once we’d finished shopping, it was time for some last minute silly selfies! We took the opportunity to selfie with the BUA board. We got caught mid selfie by the photographer so the next two shots are like ‘Selfie-Ception’.